The Naked Red Snapper is ready to rejoin the school

Yesterday, I took the train from Maine down to Boston with my parents, my fiance and her father. We did the typical tourist things: walk the freedom trail, go to Quincy Market, and take both a harbor and trolley tour. I felt something akin to awe in the "Cradle of Liberty," nurtured by the view of the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill monument (which is, oddly enough, not on Bunker Hill but Beacon Hill). The sheer amount of history that occurred in that single city was overwhelming. The near endless amount of information thrown around like so many bags of tea on that day back in 1773 solidified the feeling that this was a city "steeped" in history.

But of all the things I saw yesterday, the one that made the biggest impression was couched in a not-so-interesting tour of Cambridge. After winding along a car-packed Mass. Ave listening to the banal anecdotes of a clearly neophyte tour guide, the trolley passed by the gates of that bastion of learning--Harvard.

Students were sitting on the grass reading assignments. They were sitting in cafes discussing erudite topics. They were doing things that I had been doing only two years ago and missed desperately. But at that point, I did not feeling a longing for academia, but a jealously that was stronger than anything I had felt in a long time. Why did they get to spend their days indulged in books while I sat here on this trolley watching them from the outside?

Perhaps it was the blustery day that found me reaching for my non-existent jacket or watching students giving tours of Harvard Yard that stirred my yearning for a return to school. I had been milling between trepidation and excitement about once again knocking on the gates of the ivory tower, but yesterday saw a swift shift toward the latter. I still have nearly a month before school starts and can't wait for it to do so.

I can't wait to be inundated with readings and reports. I doubt I'll be able to say that in two months.

The Naked Red Snapper does Hard Labor

I realized something today as I was putting siding on a house in the 94 degree heat, covered in concrete dust with sweat running down my brow and into my eyes. I realized that I like manual labor. Although you would never think so if you looked at me hunched over my computer or sitting at my desk with my nose in a book, there is nothing more satisfying (and exhausting) than spending the day under the sun laboring to make something. This is the third day I've been doing this and I love being able to look at the house and say, "I did that with my own two hands (and the leadership and know-how of my father)."

That was definitely one thing that I missed in Japan and hope to do a little bit of while I'm in Chicago. Maybe I could get involved with Habitat for Humanity or some urban renewal project. If you can think of something or know the name of a good program, leave me a comment and I'll look into it.

The Naked Red Snapper is lost in the internets

So being stuck in Bowling Green away from the people I talked to in Japan, I have become addicted to living vicariously through people I have no contact with anymore. Facebook, you are the source of my problems. Instead of reading up on my Japanese history and studying for school, I sit in front of your useless information-filled screen. Sometimes I message people and sometimes I feel that I should. But most of all, I feel that I am in information overload and lost in the internets.

You can call me a Luddite all you want, but I miss talking to people. I miss being able to call people up and ask, "Hey, how are you doing?" without getting the vocal version of what you see at the bottom of every article written on the internet today; "If you want to find out more about me, check out my facebook page or blog at naninani.blogspot.com. Or you can follow me on twitter. Or if you feel that you must communicate with me instead of passively observing me life, you can text me impersonally at 555-5555. C U thr!"

All I ask is that the next time you would text someone, call them up and say, "What's up?" I know your vocal cords may need time to adjust, but it will give your thumbs a nice little break for them to think about what they could be doing instead of punching that tiny keyboard; perhaps they might enjoy some good old fashioned twiddling.

The Naked Red Snapper Starts a Blog

I am the naked red snapper and this is my blog.

If you are wondering why this blog is called the naked red snapper, you are probably not the first. I'll give it to you simple. My name (Tyler) when rendered into Japanese becomes TAIRA. When those sounds (TAI and RA) are put into Japanese characters, they can be written in a plethora of ways. The most interesting of which is "red snapper" and "naked." Thus I am the naked red snapper.

I've just gotten back from Japan after teaching English there for the past two years. While there, I did a lot of great traveling, ate a lot of delicious and interesting food (Sea cucumber, anyone?), and met amazing people (one of whom is my soon to be wife). I've come back to the US to turn everything I am on its head. I am moving from a small village of about 1000 people in Japan to the capital of the Midwest, Chicago. When I left for Japan two years ago, I did so to become a teacher; I now return to become a student. Where once I was a bachelor, on September 5th, I will become a husband. Everything is getting flipped around. And you know what? I have never been more scared and excited. This will be my new life. I can't wait!

If you've ever felt like things are changing too quick and needed to see someone who is in the same boat, look no further. The naked red snapper is here. Who knows what he'll reveal next?